Under 18 at AC
 "He can't go down with three barrels...not with three barrels on he can't." Location: Maryland
Website: [Link]
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My dear AC friends For a few years now, my son has been chomping at the bit to go to a fur con with me. Well next year he will be 10 and I am considering making AC 08 his first con. I know AC is viewed as a family friendly event, But I still have questions I wonder about. My son wants me to purchase (or build) him a fur suit. He has been interested in an American bald eagle suit for a few years. I have located a small ver of this suit that would be perfect for him. He has worked with me for the past 3 years in my local fur suit events so he knows how to suit and how those rules all work. Would he be able to participate in a masquerade skit with me? What events will he not be able to participate in (other than the adult art show) Can he go into the dealers den and walk around with me. Sharky |
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Icerocket
Location: Walker, LA
Website: [Link]
I think the rule is, that if you bring him it's up to you as to what he is and is not allowed to do.
I'll be bringing my 12 year old raccoon daughter and 10 year old Kangaroo son for AC'08.
I'll be scouting the dealers den first so that I will know before they come in there where I will and will not allow them to go. Otherwise, they'll be around the con.
Maybe we need to create some kind of activity for the Cubs. hmmmmmm...gonna hafta think about that one a bit more.
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permalinkLocation: Maryland
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"Maybe we need to create some kind of activity for the Cubs. hmmmmmm...gonna hafta think about that one a bit more"
What a GREAT IDEA !! ...Maybe we should look at setting up a event or panel for the cubs and guppies. If anyone else is intrested in this idea, please post your thoughts here on this string
Sharky
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permalinkBlog: [Link]
YAY!! Two volunteers! You're in charge!!
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permalinkLocation: Walker, LA
Website: [Link]
I was actually looking for somewhere I could be of use at AC. I would be honored if you would allow me to setup something for the cubs a couple of hours a day.
As a BSA Cubmaster for Pack 851 I actually have experience in this area as well...not to mention having the coolest title in the BSA, "Cubmaster"
I would love to hear more on how you would want this handled, if you have any rules or preferences you would want followed.
Please contact me at your earliest convenience to discuss this. nwh -at- cox [dot] net
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permalinkLocation: Maryland
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Eagles Flight, I would love to talk with you about this. I think we can pool our talents together in this venture
Please e mail me
Sharky
Ashark2th@aol.com
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permalinkLocation: Walker, LA
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email sent...thanks
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permalinkLocation: Maryland
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Kage
You know me well enough and my background in working with children; I am 100 percent serious in this venture. If I get your finial approval in setting up a few children related events then consider it done. I already have had a few of the Maryland mascots team expressed an interest in helping out.
As you can see we have already had a few great ideas floating about, and most seem very receptive to this whole idea. What I would like to do is get three or four firm ideas set up, and submit them for approval to the AC staff. From there I can gaiter my crew, who will assist me in getting things rolling. I would like to host maybe two or three different events that take place on different days during the 08 con.
Sharky
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permalinkLocation: Roseville, CA, USA
*reviews entire thread*
Golly, that was chillingly easy! Kage, you are GOOD at this!
*Must make mental note: Avoid looking into eyes of Chairman, lest one should find oneself volunteering to start and manage a whole new panel/event - and with no clear memory of precisely how this came about*
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permalinkLocation: Washington DC
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The Chairman is a Cockroach. There are a lot of eyes to avoid looking into...
Thus why it is so easy for him...
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permalinkLocation: Philadelphia area, PA
:swings cockroach on a chain:
You are feeling helpful...very helpful...
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permalinkLocation: Roseville, CA, USA
*with glazed eyes*
Must...Be...Helpful...
Must........Beee.....Helpfullll...
Must............Helpppp?....
Hmmm - being "helpful" - no one has ever accused me of that particular vice before...I must review the situation, and reconsider the potential outcome.
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permalink*blindfolds himself* cant get me now kage. You will never get me to help out.........ok I'll help out with con setup but thats that.
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permalinkLocation: Kansas, USA
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I agree! It'd be great to see something for the younger furs out there.
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permalinkLocation: Maryland
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Grey Fox...I love your firefox icon attacking IE. Where did you find it at ?
Sharky
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permalinkLocation: Maryland
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So the next question is. How many young furs come to AC and would it be feasible to set up an event. (of course adults fur can come to)
Some ideas might be arts and crafts event (nothing messy, like drawing)
A story hour, maybe have some fursuiters read a book to the young guppies.
Set up a projector and screen and host a Furry Movie showing. (like Over the Hedge or maybe a Disney Film
As some of you know already I have worked with the National Park Association in setting up mascot showings to work with children groups. I would be willing to set something up at AC should a need arise.
I guess the next step would be to speak to the staff and see what they think about this whole thing.
I will send KP an E Mail and see if we can generate some intrest
Sharky
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permalinkLocation: Ardmore, PA
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With the exception of the mature section of the art show and a couple of the events (2's show comes to mind), there are no age restrictions on anything else. You can take your son pretty much where ever you want.
--
My LiveJournal - My Website
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permalinkLocation: Maryland
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Thanks Giza.
Sharky
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permalinkLocation: Maryland
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Hey K.P
I am planning to bring my 10 year old son with me to 08 AC, and thought it would be fun to host a few panels (or events) geared towards younger furs. It looks like more and more young furs are coming to AC, and if we want to promote a family atmosphere, this might be the way to go. If you can for see a need here for younger fur events, than please contact me and lets chat. (We have others here on the board who showed intrest)
I have five years of experience in working with the National Park Association here in Maryland in setting up Children and Fur suit events. Most of the staff that has worked with me over the years has attended AC and we all love to organizing events for young furs. I would be more than happy to coordinate some events, for the younger furs.
Sharky
(e mail sent to KP)
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permalinkI think it would be a good idea to continue discussing panels/events for younger furs on this board, as the months pass. I think most panels begin with a perceived need or a perceived interest, and the long-standing ones continue because they serve such an interest or need. Different conventions have different events that cater to younger attendees, some are one-shot, others are long-standing.
According to the 2007 totals,
http://www.anthrocon.org/history-registration-2007
279 attendees were age 19 or lower,
with most of those being ages 15-19.
Events for younger folk can potentially interest older folk- especially if they're spectator games or a cartoon room or something. I'd recommend maybe 2 possible events, and seeing how the responses went for that. Please note that responses to an event can vary widely from year to year. I ran the LARP at AC the past 3 years running, and interest more than doubled THIS year over a rather stable attendance the previous 2 years. I expect similar surprises can affect ALL panels, based on the attendees, their interests, and what runs at the same time.
I DO expect that the game rooms (video and tabletop) will offer a number of things to interest younger attendees. I saw threads about "Apples to Apples", and I seem to recall that's not exactly a college game. (Not where I went, anyway. Of course, I could be wrong.)
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permalinkLocation: Maryland
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Thanks for input Black Jack, I agree with you 100 % all we need to do is get the input from the staff (or Chairman)
Sharky
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permalinkPlease note that this is all my opinion, and the staff are under no compulsion to think or act in any way resembling this....
Again, my opinion...
The staff is primarily catching up with life right now. Discussion of panels tends to come in the Spring, in the months leading up to the con. So, if you're going to wait for them to check in and reply, you may have a long wait.
Generally, they're flexible concerning event proposals.
(I.e. Sharky comes up and says "I have this proposal for an event.") Flexibility of timeslot would be a small consideration (I expect you'll have an early-in-the-day event, morning or afternoon, or at least request such a time.) Certain of their more monolithic events require a lot of planning, and your event may need to be moved depending on its demands.
I think the things that might pose difficulties for your event are two:
A) what are your requirements?
If you need a small room, that's probably easy. The function rooms at the Westin are easier to schedule events into. (I wasn't chased out of any rooms by the next event's setup, for example.) The larger the room, the less that's true. Do you require special equipment? That's another consideration. Every piece of equipment-except what you bring- requires a lot of planning and management to make it all look effortless. Some may be out-of-the-question, depending on your request.
(E.g. "I would like to construct a kiddie pool in the function room. I will need 10,000 pounds of vulcanized rubber, a sump pump, a hose running from a bathroom, a vintage velocipede, and 17 boxes of construction glitter. Here's how they all figure in...")
B) Safety first. And second. And third.
If something you have in mind seems somehow unsafe (and they'll want specifics in staging as well as execution), they may ask you to redesign, or refuse to accept it.
(E.g."We will simulate Naruto. One player will be throwing shuriken.") I'd recommending rereading the FAQ and Standards of Conduct to find information that may be in inconvenient sections or otherwise not easy to find.
(For example, kids in summer may love a "good" watergun fight", but water fights and waterguns of any type are not accepted at AnthroCon. Says so in the rules.) Simulated weapons of any type seem to all be off the "permitted" list. Knowing what's forbidden is a good idea before planning ANYTHING that isn't a straight discussion group (and isn't a bad idea even then.)
It sounds like you have some ideas already- I'd work out a number so you can select the most harmonious and put one or two in motion. Any free time you want to do that is probably good.
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permalinkLocation: Maryland
Website: [Link]
I will pool the ideas of the other furs that have helped me set up local children events here in MD. Once we have a list of fun activities we will post them and get other input.
Sharky
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If any artists have Mature content they are selling, they have the binders and folders containing it well marked and are not allowed to leave them open to the public, precisely because there are wee ones running about.
A few even had the binders with them under the table and had little signs saying things like 'want to see my mature work? Please ask' Etc etc.
And of course, Naughty bits that are seen in regular work that arent mature content are to be covered with stickers. Mainly nipples get the sticker treatment.
It's nice to see parents wanting to bring their kidjums to AC. Lol My son however is a voracious 2 year old, so it will be a while before He makes an appearance.
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permalinkLocation: Russell Kansas USA.
meh... the games do sound like a good idea for the younger croud having me as no exception being 15 and all {8^( but by teh con I guess I'll be 16 but still not quite near 18
so long as they don't intervene I think everyone will be willing to give them a chance to prove themselves as furs...
personally I think musical chairs would go good
(or would it?) stuck in the mud/freeze tag, fur hunt which is the reverted version of man hunt...
you play base tag in the pitch black night environment tree climbing bush hiding and all are allowed so long as nobody gets hurt^^ I just love poping out of the trees or dah bushes especially when they scream and fall backwards and forget to tag me (cousins) you can also play inside a large space such as a gym...
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don't ever let me fall asleep in/on ur shoulder or lap...
ur friend may nibble and nip, but I bite... rawr ^^
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permalinkLocation: Philadelphia area, PA
AC is in the middle of the city, so there isn't as much in a way of bushes and trees to hide behind, and i'm not sure i'd recommend taking a bunch of kids out to hide behind things in the dark.
The other ideas sound like they would be good, though. For that matter, i could see a group making their own simple tails or masks, maybe a game of tail tag (with breakaway tails, of course). Stories also sound good; i bet there are a fair number of furs of all ages who'd enjoy a reading of some furry classics, for instance, like winnie the pooh.
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permalinkLocation: Maryland
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yes this is what I am thinking, Having a very simple craft panel wheere tails can be made. Also the idea of a movie night for kid friendly movies would be fun.
Sharky
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Yes, as long as he meets the requirements that all participants are expected to.
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permalinkLocation: Maryland
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Thank you answering Rigel, this was one of the bigger questions that I needed answered.
Sharky
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permalinkYou sure that he'll be able to handle it? The SoP Ballroom is pretty big, and it'll be packed to the gills with boisterous furs. Bit of a step up from a typical school play, y'know?
--
iSKUNK!
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permalinkLocation: Maryland
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I Skunk, thanks for your concern. My Son has performed at our local national park, at there holloween event. It was a large group and he did very well. I think he can handle being on stage with his old man doing a skit. I am sure the boisterous furs (lol) will be kind to him.
Plus he is so much of a ham, he will eat it up !!
Sharky
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permalinkLocation: Maryland
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Ok, the next question we need to ask here. Is how many young furs are there at the con? If there is away we can get a head (or paw) count it would help us get a good idea on things we would need.
If you have taken (or want to take) your cub to AC then please make a reply post on this thead.
Sharky
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The attendee stats for 2004-2007 are broken down by age group in the History section of the website:
http://www.anthrocon.org/history
Just click on the attendance numbers links there.
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permalinkLocation: Gettysburg, PA
I'm planning on coming in 2008, and have been debating on bringing my 10 year old daughter. I think she would enjoy it - most of the costumes I build, I build for her for Halloween and a local horror convention (in fact that's her in my avatar dressed as Redmond Gore of the Teddy Scares)...
She's the actress, I'm the costumer - I can't act my way out of a brown paper bag.
If activities were provided specifically for the cubs, that would definitely make the decision to bring her much easier! So count one more cub into the mix.
I can definitely help if you need it, Sharky... and I can brainstorm ideas too.
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Woohoo, another volunteer!!
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permalinkMy daughter, who will be 12 at AC is an AC vet and usually gathers up all the kids she can find, so you can tell your daughter there will be at least one other kids around her age looking for kids to hang out with.. and we, your Security force like to rope kids into playing Gophers.
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David M Stein, DI
"Not Unlike the Toaster, I Control the Darkness"
-- Abby Normal, "You Suck"
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permalinkLocation: Youngstown, OH
Out of curiosity what ideas might she have for the event? I think it might be a good idea to bring the kids into this discussion if they are mature enough.
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permalinkLocation: 12 scenic miles from Hell
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Speaking as one of the security staff, I can tell you from personal experience that Anthrocon takes good care of its younger guests. Good enough care that, should things break the right way, my granddaughter will be in attendance next year.
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I talked with Uncle Kage about a similar idea. And as a teen, I'd definitely be one of the first to attend this. I think it's a wonderful idea! :3
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permalinkLocation: Walker, LA
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Sharky and I have exchanged a few emails over the last few months, and I know that I am still interested in making this happen.
Sharky, if you're still around, please get back with me, we'll get the ball rolling.
If anyone else is interested in helping, or has some good ideas, please email me at nwh (-at-) cox dot net.
I'll be submitting a request for space and times shortly.
Thanks,
Eagle's Flight
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permalinkLocation: Maryland
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Hey Eagles
Please contact me as soon as possible,
Thanks
Sharky
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permalinkLocation: Long Island,NY
Wow this sounds like something I would go to. Do you think that you will organize cub events next year? Well then again I will be a 17 year old kitsune by next years con but im still not 18 and im small enough and look like a fifth grader.
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permalinkLocation: Orlando, FL
There is a time and space that has been set up for our attendees that are 12 and under. They must be accompanied by their parent and it's a series of very family friendly activities. Currently set for Saturday afternoon, we may also have some extra space and time for some family oriented activities on Friday.
I'd stress that these are craft activities and shows for our YOUNGER attendees and their parents. For the security and overall experience for our younger attendees, the room where these activities will be held will be restricted to these families and approved performers and AC staff members who have been requested to enter the space.
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permalinkLocation: Maryland
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Besides the arts and crafts that we are doing, we will also be showing the (new) CGI version of Peter and Wolf. This newer version follows the original music score perfectly. I highly recommend watching it, as it is one of the best version of this classic that I have ever seen.
The movie will last about 60 mins.
Sharky
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